McCulloch M40-450C

McCulloch M40-450C petrol lawnmower

PRO‘s: For what you get, it’s a bargain!

CON‘s: Not as robust as more expensive mowers

VERDICT: An excellent alternative to the more expensive models

OUR RATING

We first looked at a McCulloch petrol lawnmower (the McCulloch M46-500CD) in 2012 and found that it offered excellent value for money. Here we take a look at the smaller McCulloch M40-450C – does it also offer such good value for money ?

Out of the box it looks like a smart machine and certainly looks more expensive than it is. It seems to tick all the right boxes too feature-wise.

Most noticeable is the Briggs and Stratton four-stroke petrol engine (so you’ll need to fill it with oil before you first use it). The engine is the smaller 148 cc Series 450 unit but it’s a solid performer and is widely used and respected.

Below the engine is a steel cutting deck which rides on four large wheels. These aren’t powered but then, with its 40 cm (15.5 inch) cutting width, the McCulloch M40-450C is intended for use in small and medium-sized gardens.

The cutting height can be adjusted in five distinct steps from the lowest height of 20 mm to the highest of 70 mm by a lever on each axle.

The wire and fabric grass bag has a capacity of 50 litres and we found it easy to attach, re-attach and empty but it wasn’t that easy to carry for long distances. If you’d rather not collect the cuttings but would prefer to leave them on your lawn then the McCulloch M40-450C has a rear discharge option.

Filling it with oil for the first and adding fuel was easy enough. The fuel tank has a capacity of 0.9 litres – this is smaller than some petrol lawnmowers that we’ve looked at but fairly typical for a mower of this size.

Starting it was easy enough and it always sprung into life either on the first or second pull on the starter cord. In use, it felt fairly nimble as it weighs just 24 kg. Given that it’s got a steel cutting deck this is lighter than a typical petrol mower of this size but that’s because it seems to be made of thinner steel than some of its rivals.

The cutting height adjusters and handle seemed more flexible than some other more over-engineered makes but considering the price, as long as the McCulloch M40-450C is looked after, then it should give a decent number of years service. It’s certainly not a Honda lawn mower but then it costs less than half the price !

So, how does it cut the grass ?

To be honest we were surprised – it coped well with everything except very long wet grass and picked up virtually all of the clippings although we couldn’t see into the bag to see when it was full.

There’s no rear roller so the McCulloch M40-450C won’t leave stripes on your lawn – if you want that English garden look then you’ll have to look at other models in the Mcculloch range or even at other manufacturers.

Other than that our only other real criticism is there’s virtually no adjustment on the handle height. If you’re under 5’4″ then you’ll find the handles too high.

Overall we like the McCulloch M40-450C. Build-wise it’s not up there in the same league as the Honda petrol lawn mowers but then it costs a great deal less money. It cuts the grass almost as well though so, like the McCulloch M46-500CD, if you accept that it’ll last you 3-4 years then you’ll be more than happy with it.